At season's mid-point, Grizzlies 'in a good place,' hoping for better in second half

If the NBA playoffs began today, the fourth-seeded Grizzlies would host the fifth-place Golden State Warriors in a first-round series.

In getting off to a franchise-best start, the Griz (27-14) have beaten the Warriors both times they've played.

The Griz could also conceivably have a Western Conference All Star reserve in forward Zach Randolph given he leads the NBA in double-doubles (27) and ranks second in rebounding with 11.6 per game. The reserves, voted on by NBA head coaches, will be announced Thursday night at 6 p.m. on TNT.

So it should come as no surprise that the Grizzlies, despite recent struggles on offense and a multiplayer trade, view themselves as not half bad midway through their 82-game schedule.

"I'll take 27-14 in the next 41," Griz coach Lionel Hollins said.

Said point guard Mike Conley: "I don't think we're totally dissatisfied with what we've been doing. We wish we were a little bit better but at the same time we can look at our record and say we're in a good place. We're hopefully only going to get better."

Early Tuesday, the Grizzlies traded two rotation players in Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington, and Josh Selby and a protected 2015 draft pick to Cleveland for forward Jon Leuer. They also signed three-point specialist Chris Johnson to a 10-day contract out of the NBA Development League.

The trade was clearly a salary dump so that the franchise can avoid more than $4 million in luxury tax payments and create flexibility to change the roster if need be. Players insist they want to believe that making moves now isn't an indictment on their ability to contend.

"We've accomplished a lot and we have a lot more to accomplish," forward Rudy Gay said. "We've had ups and downs. If we just limit those downs we'll become an even greater team than we are now."

Veteran guard Tony Allen was correct, though, when he said: "It's been a roller coaster. For the most part we just have to stay together."

Memphis built a 12-2 record over the first month of the season. The Griz went 7-7 in December and own an 8-5 mark thus far in January.

Still, no other team in franchise history has been this good record-wise through 41 games.

"If you look at the standings, we're right there fighting for the third spot, the second spot … We're right there at the top," center Marc Gasol said. "We just have to clean up stuff and try to be positive. Take one game at a time and we'll be a lot better. But to be really, really special, we have to be consistent with everything we do."